More Than Friends
by DarkShadowsFalling
Summary: Hidden feelings may destroy a friendship that has lasted longer than any other...Can Yusuke and Kuwabara work through the problems that hang between them...or will they find themselves parting ways after 10 years fighting together? Yaoi. KuwaYusu


More Than Friends

*A YuYu Hakusho Fan Fiction. Characters belong to Yoshihiko Togashi. Not Mine. This story is not written for money or profit and I apologize ahead of time if they seem OOC*

"Kee-ripes, this demon's a pain in the ass!" exclaimed Yusuke Urameshi, jumping into a bush as another streak of aura sailed past him.

"He is being particularly nasty today, that's for sure! Poor Kuwabara's out cold already!" replied Botan, the blue-haired guide to the Underworld who called herself assistant to Yusuke.

The man she spoke of, one Kazuma Kuwabara, was indeed sprawled out on the forest floor, completely unconscious. It hadn't taken much, just one particularly strong blast of demonic aura to the center of the body. The attack had sent Kuwabara sailing through the air, into the thick trunk of an ancient oak tree. He'd been knocked out immediately.

Yusuke was finding it difficult to fight the demon on his own. Botan wasn't much help, not really possessing any fighting abilities. And the two demons that Yusuke usually relied upon both had other things to do.

Kurama, the red-haired fox demon who was also known as the human Shuichi Minamino, was on vacation with his human mother and new stepfather. Hiei, the black and white-haired demon who possessed the Evil Eye, had gone to where glaciers and snow called home to make sure his sister Yukina, a beautiful Ice Maiden, was safe from harm. He never approached her, simply watching from the shadows.

Yusuke and Kuwabara had tried to refuse the job from the Underworld, but Lord Koenma, the former King Enma's son, had told them it would be easy. He told them that this demon wasn't a fighter and that he would come quietly.

*Quietly, nuthin'! This bastard's pretty frikkin' strong!* thought Yusuke as he fired off some rapid blasts of Reiki from his hand toward the demon.

It dodged easily and laughed. "Is that really all you've got, puny human? I heard that Urameshi, the Underworld Detective, was to be feared! All I'm fearing is that your pitiful level of Reiki will burn a hole in my clothes!"

Yusuke gritted his teeth against the jibe. Demons were notorious for their campy provocation, especially when their opponent wasn't doing so hot. All of Yusuke's dodging was pissing it off…and it was pissing Yusuke off as well, quite frankly.

*Well, it's all or nothing…Gotta do somethin' so I can get Kuwabara to Koenma!*

Yusuke came out of hiding and charged toward the demon at full speed, yelling at the top of his lungs, "URAMESHI KAMIKAZE DELUXE!"

The demon grinned and held out his arm, prepared to fire his demonic aura at Yusuke. "Die, human!" His hand glowed purple and he let go of the energy, sending it hurtling towards his target.

Yusuke vaulted over it, his hands coming to rest on the demon's head. He used his momentary hand rest as leverage to hoist himself back into the air and land nimbly on his feet behind the enemy. He turned fast, his hand in the shape of a gun.

"You die FIRST!" Yusuke fired off his Reiki. It hit the demon square between the eyes. It froze, it's mouth going slack in shock…and then promptly keeled over.

The detective followed suit as his body gave out in exhaustion. He landed on his back, his arms flung out above his head. He was really out of shape. A fight like this shouldn't have taken so much out of him.

"Botan…you tell Koenma from me…the next time he wants a job done, he can just go screw himself. I'm done," he huffed, feeling his eyes grow heavy.

Botan was at his side in an instant. "What do you mean, done?! This job's for life!"

"I'm putting in for some vacation time. Well earned, I might add, for both Kuwabara and me. We've been going for nearly 10 years without a break. Next demon that shows up, Koenma can send another bounty hunter after 'em. Capisce?"

Botan nodded. "Got it. Rest, Yusuke. I contacted Lord Koenma and Keiko. They'll be here soon."

But Yusuke didn't hear a word she'd said, for he'd already passed out cold. He didn't resurface for almost 32 hours.

* * *

When next Yusuke opened his eyes, he found himself on the tatami floor of Master Genkai's temple. Sunlight illuminated the beige shoji doors, creating a soft glow in the room.

He groaned and sat up, his hand to his head. He had a massive headache, but that seemed to be his only ache. Despite the multiple blows to his body, it felt pretty normal.

*Thanks to Botan's pneumotherapy. Don't know what I'd do without her…* Yusuke thought, smiling a little.

One of the doors slid open and Keiko Yukimura, Yusuke's childhood friend, entered. She carried a tray with a couple of covered dishes and a cup of steaming green tea.

Keiko smiled when she saw him. "Ah, you're awake! Good, saves me the trouble of trying to wake you up. How're you feeling?"

"Other than the bongo drums beating against my brain, I feel pretty good," Yusuke replied, getting up and going to the table.

She nodded. "Botan said you'd probably have a headache when you woke up, so I put something in your tea to help with it."

Yusuke picked up the tea and sipped it. Almost instantly, he could feel a cooling, soothing sensation in his head and the pain decrease. He sighed in relief. "It's working…Thanks, Keiko."

"You can thank Kurama when he gets back. He gave me a crash course in herbal remedies for the times he's not here." Keiko smiled. "It's nice to have these little tricks. I feel like I can help."

Yusuke smirked. "I bet. Hey, how's Kuwabara?"

"Still recovering. Apparently, when he hit the tree, it cracked a couple of vertebrae. He's healed, but very stiff. Botan's been doing pneumotherapy on him every couple of hours and it's loosening up." Keiko bit her lip and then blurted out," I don't like you two doing this, Yusuke! You always come back so battered and bruised! Before too long, your injuries won't be healable!"

Yusuke sighed. "I know, Keiko…I know. I've told Botan to tell Koenma that Kuwabara and I are taking a vacation. We both need it badly. There's only so much that you and Koenma can do. The rest of the healing is up to us. That's what this break is for."

Keiko was still visibly distressed. "For how long, though? Two weeks and you're back to fighting demons? I don't want either of you doing this at all! Tell them you quit!"

He fixed her with a very even look. "I can't do that. This job is non-negotiable. I'm an Underworld Detective until the day I die…again."

Keiko sighed heavily. "Why, Yusuke? Why does it have to be you and Kuwabara?"

Yusuke grimaced. "Because I'm pretty sure Koenma likes screwing with m e. As for Kuwabara, it has always been a choice for him. From the moment he agreed to help me destroy Genbu, Byakko, Seiryuu, and Suzaku, he has elected to join me for every job since. I honestly don't know why. It's not like there's money or any type of glory involved. The more high-level demons we kill, the more we become wanted men in the Demon Plane. But every time, he comes along with me. I thought he hated me."

Keiko was thoughtful. "It IS a little strange. I thought he hated you too until you died. He seemed to really be upset over your death and took your body in when your house burned down. I don't know what Kuwabara really thinks about you."

Yusuke chewed on some rice from a bowl as he mused silently. None of it really made any sense. Ten years of broken bones, bruises, and enough spilt blood to fill a blood bank and Yusuke's best friend was the ultimate mystery to him.

The door suddenly slid open again and the man in question peeked in. "Yo, Urameshi, you alive?"

Yusuke grinned. "Barely. How about you and that ugly mug of yours?"

Kuwabara smirked. "Alive and kicking. Heard you got that demon good."

"Yup. He never knew what hit 'im. Glad to see you're okay, man."

"Thanks." Kuwabara dropped down on the cushion across from Yusuke, stiffness obvious as he winced.

Keiko stood up. "I'll go get you something to eat too, Kuwabara-san."

"Thanks, Yukimura."

She nodded and hurried from the room, leaving the two men together. A comfortable silence settled between them, as it always did nowadays.

But Yusuke hated silence, no matter how comfortable it was.

"So, Kuwabara…How would you feel about a vacation from all this demon-butt kicking?" he asked.

Kuwabara was quiet for a moment as he thought it over. "I just have one question: Can we go to Hawaii?"

Yusuke laughed. "Sure. But no Bermuda shorts. Deal?"

"Deal!" Kuwabara grinned.

A light tapping sound was heard from the door. "It's Botan, Yusuke. You decent?"

"Yep. Kuwabara's in his thong, though," replied Yusuke, grinning like a cat.

Kuwabara grabbed the other man, putting him in a headlock as he smiled maliciously. "Up yours, Urameshi!"

Yusuke laughed and managed to escape. "You can come in, Botan!"

The Underworld guide slid the door open, giggling. "Glad to see you both have your energy back!"

"Hey, you can't keep us down! We're the best!" exclaimed Kuwabara, leaning on the table.

"That's very true! Even Lord Koenma has admitted that the two of you are the most skilled detectives in the Underworld!" Botan looked to Yusuke, becoming serious. "Which is why your request for a vacation has caused some serious concerns on Lord Koenma's behalf. He asks you to really think about it…"

Yusuke crossed his arms and sat up straight. "I HAVE thought about it, Botan. I've already promised to take Kuwabara to Hawaii. I have every intention of going to the Demon Plane and getting some of the money that belonged to my demon dad and hopping a plane with my best friend. We have been working our butts off for 10 years without stopping. We have earned some vacation time. So you can go back to Koenma and tell him that once Kuwabara's back in good working order, we're off the clock indefinitely."

Botan's eyes widened. "INDEFINITELY?! You don't know when you're coming back?!"

"Nope. And that's my final word. If Koenma tries to stop me, I don't mind fighting him."

She blinked. "You're quite serious about this, aren't you?"

"I'm as serious as a heart attack, Botan," said Yusuke firmly.

"All rightly…I'll tell Lord Koenma. If he doesn't completely blow his lid, I'll be back soon." Botan looked extremely worried.

"Don't panic. By now, Koenma knows I'm a pretty stubborn son of a bitch. I doubt he'll get too mad."

She nodded and sighed. "Okay. Here I go. See ya in a while." She bwinked out, leaving Yusuke and Kuwabara alone again.

Yusuke exhaled and closed his eyes, leaning on his hand. Kuwabara looked amused and mildly impressed.

"Would you really fight Koenma?" he asked.

"If I had to. Mind you, he'd probably flatten me, but I'd try anyway. I always go down swinging," Yusuke replied, smiling slightly.

"That's what I like about you, man. You don't give up the ghost until you've done everything you can. You're a pretty admirable guy, Urameshi," said Kuwabara.

"I learn from the best." Yusuke smirked, giving the other man a very pointed look.

They talked for a while about nothing of consequence. Mostly, it was about their last case and the high and low points. This was fairly normal for the pair, a bit of a debriefing session to help improve where they'd lacked and to discuss new things that had possibly cropped up.

Keiko came back with another tray and some more the tea she'd given Yusuke. She was busy helping Kuwabara's sister, Shizuru, so she didn't stay long.

Yusuke and Kuwabara ate in silence, the only sound in the room the chinking of chopsticks scraping the bottom of the china bowls. Both were ravenous after expending so much spiritual energy and Keiko's food was always a palate pleaser.

Suddenly, Botan bwinked back in. From the slightly haggard look on her face, Yusuke surmised that the talks had been unpleasant.

"Well?" he ventured.

"I spoke to Lord Koenma. As expected, everyone in the Underworld are worried about a demon of your caliber just going off. You've been given so many assignments to keep you under check and they think that you'll just disappear off the radar if you were given time off." One thing Yusuke respected about Botan was her honesty. She'd learned long ago not to pussyfoot around him.

"I'm taking Kuwabara with me! It's not like I'm going to be using him as a cover!" he exclaimed. "I frankly don't care that they've been keeping such a close watch on me and I don't have any intention of ducking out! But Kuwabara and I deserve a vacation!" His aura was flaring up a bit as he burned with anger.

"Whoa! Cool your jets, Yusuke! The good news is that Lord Koenma said yes. The only catch is that I have to check in with you once a day. It's pretty simple," said Botan, smiling a bit. She had a soft spot where Yusuke Urameshi was concerned and had not shrunk away from him when his demonic blood had been unleashed. She had fought tooth and nail to get him the vacation time he'd requested.

His aura went quickly back in check as he blinked. "Oh. Well, cool. Thanks a million, Botan!"

"No problem."

Yusuke looked to Kuwabara. "Start getting' yourself packed, buddy!"

Kuwabara smirked. "We're goin' to Hawaii!"

* * *

Three days later found Yusuke and Kuwabara boarding a plane for Honolulu at 9am. Both men were equally excited and couldn't wait to reach their destination.

Yusuke was a little more apprehensive than he let on, however. This was the first time in a long time that they'd been alone together and he knew there were some things hanging between them that needed to be fixed. Badly.

8 and a half years ago, Yusuke had returned from the Demon Plane after being away for a year and a half. When he'd left, Kuwabara had been the last one he told because he knew it would upset his best friend and Kuwabara had the ability to talk him out of it. Yusuke hadn't wanted to deal with it, plus he knew he had to go to the Demon Plane.

When Yusuke had come back, Kuwabara had welcomed him back in that over-exuberant, happy way of his. But as time passed after that, the half-demon had noticed a distance and coolness coming from Kuwabara. He realized the redheaded man had decided to not get close again.

For 8 and a half years, this had eaten away at Yusuke. The never spoke about it and never tried to get close like they had been.

This broke Yusuke's heart.

In the Demon Plane, Yusuke had done a lot of thinking. While he wasn't the most sentimental being in the universe, nor did he understand much about affection, he'd come to the realization that was completely in love with Kazuma Kuwabara.

Yusuke's full intention on this vacation was to apologize for leaving like he had and confess his sentiments to his best friend. Kuwabara's answer would determine Yusuke's next move.

In truth, he was thoroughly sick of being a Spirit Detective. When he'd come back, the Underworld had been reluctant to hire him again, but had agreed to it. They'd kept a close eye on him since.

If Kuwabara didn't feel the same or showed disgust at Yusuke's affection, Yusuke would return to the Demon Plane and never set foot in the Human World again. If Kuwabara felt the same as he did, Yusuke would stay. But he'd have to find a way to keep Kuwabara from aging and dying. He didn't want to spend an eternity without the big lug.

"Hey, you still with me, Urameshi?" came Kuwabara's concerned voice, cutting across Yusuke's thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, thinking a bit," Yusuke replied, a little absent-mindedly.

"I figured that. What about?"

Yusuke shook his head. "Can't tell you that yet. But I will soon. As for right now, take a out the window! There's the Big Island!"

But even though Kuwabara turned his head towards the window, his eyes never left Yusuke. He knew the other man was preoccupied with something. And he had a feeling it was something that would impact both their lives in a big way yet again. (Strong sixth sense, this one O.o)

They landed at the airport at 6:30pm and took a cab to their hotel. They were both pretty blown away by the tropical atmosphere and the dark blue waters against the setting sun. It was nothing like Japan.

They got to the hotel and were escorted to their rooms. Yusuke had purchased adjoining rooms with a shared bathroom. The rooms were two of the hotel's best suites.

"Holy cheese, Urameshi! What's with the fancy-schmancy rooms?!" Kuwabara exclaimed, dropping his bags in shock.

"I figured that as long as we were vacationing, we might as well do it in style. This hotel's the best too. They have swimming pools, a bowling room, a small theater, a skating rink, and some weight training rooms. And they have nightly luaus. We can find some good shopping about a mile away. We deserve the best!" Yusuke replied, setting his stuff down.

"Heh. The only thing that'd make this better would be a pretty girl on our arms, eh Urameshi?" Kuwabara grinned.

Yusuke smiled with a kind of warmth that confused Kuwabara. "Aw, who needs girls? I'm pretty damn happy right now. I think I'm gonna shower and get ready for the luau. You gonna want the shower after me?"

Kuwabara shook his head. "Nah, man. I'm good."

"Cool. See you in a few then." Yusuke grabbed his bags and headed over to his room.

He quickly unpacked everything, grabbed a clean set of clothes, and entered the bathroom. He took his time divesting his dirty clothes while waiting for the shower to come to the perfect temperature.

He looked in the mirror and let some of his manliness slip as he regarded his reflection. He wasn't badly built, with good muscles. Some of his demonic markings swirled on his skin, but he could easily say they were tattoos. His face looked young still, as though he were 16 instead of the 24 that he was. His skin was fairly pale, but looked firm and of a good color. His eyes were bright with the lust of life. He was in the prime of his existence.

Yusuke stepped into the shower, letting the heated water run down his body. It was almost sensual to him, like many fingers caressing his skin. He closed his eyes, letting his mind wander where it might.

It brought Kuwabara to him. In his mind's eye, the much taller man stood before him, a gentle smirk on his lips. His large, slightly callused hands trailed over Yusuke's smooth flesh instead of the water and made the Spirit Detective shiver.

Then Kuwabara's lips found the sensitive skin of Yusuke's neck and began nipping and sucking there as he pinned the smaller man to the bathtub tiles. His hands slipped lower over Yusuke's hips and began to move forward.

Yusuke knew where this was going and wanted it more than anything. He wrapped his arms around his best friend, moaning gently in his ear to spur him on. Kuwabara got the message and let the fingers of his right hand whisper over Yusuke's hard cock.

Yusuke mewled quietly and the other man took a firmer hold, stroking gently. Yusuke held him tighter, moving his hips in synch with the stroking. It felt insanely good to him, starved as he was for his best friend's touch.

Kuwabara began harder, firmer strokes and Yusuke felt his breath catch, his heart racing in carnal need and fierce desire. Kuwabara's lips moved to the other side of Yusuke's neck, causing him to gasp, heat shooting straight to his groin.

Kuwabara removed his hand and ground his hips to Yusuke's, growling in the back of his throat. The two men slid against each other, sweet friction between them. They grunted and moaned, speeding their movements until Yusuke came with a harsh, pleasure-filled cry of ecstasy.

He came back to himself as his yell entered the real world and his orgasm caused him to ejaculate roughly on the wall. His knees had turned to jelly, giving out, and he fell backwards, hitting his head slightly against the wall. It was loud enough, however, to make an audible thudding sound.

He gasped and panted as he lay in the warm water. He swallowed, trying to slow his speeding heartbeat.

And then a very loud banging sound caused him to jump. "Urameshi! You okay in there?!" came Kuwabara's voice from the other side of the door.

Yusuke turned ten shades of red as he thought about his daydream and that the cause of his best fantasy standing right outside the door was mortifying. He took a steadying breath before speaking.

"Y—yeah, I'm fine! All good in here!"

"You sure? I heard you yell!"

*Oh, shit…That's worse for him to hear! A guy should never hear his friend jacking off to thoughts of him!* Yusuke thought, feeling slightly ill.

"I just saw a spider that surprised me, that's all! It's fine! I'll be out in a few!"

"Okay…" Kuwabara didn't sound convinced, but he didn't push the subject.

Yusuke sighed as he stood up shakily. That orgasm had taken a lot of out of him as he was still tingling from it. Just the mere memory of the dream Kuwabara's touch made him tremble.

He turned the water to the colder side of things and finished his shower as he continued thinking. As usual, it traveled to Kuwabara.

For years, Yusuke had been having similar daydreams. But none of them had caused a reaction like that. In retrospect, he'd never had the object of his affection so close to him before, so that might have caused some very positive stimulation.

*The thrill of the danger of being caught makes the sin so much sweeter…* he thought wryly, washing shampoo out of his ebony hair. *I just wish I wasn't so much of a damned chicken about all this! How annoying…*

But he really didn't know what Kuwabara would say, and the thought of his best friend telling him to shove it was not appealing. As far as Yusuke knew, Kuwabara might have been planning to ask Yukina, the Ice Maiden, to marry him. And while Yusuke liked Yukina well enough, he didn't want Kuwabara and her getting all domestic together. It just didn't sit right with him.

Yusuke turned the water off and climbed out of the tub, wrapping a towel around his waist. He traipsed over to stand in front of the mirror.

He shaved and patted a very light aftershave on that his mother had given him. Atsuko Urameshi wasn't always the most responsible mom in the world, but she had a good heart and loved her son very much.

Yusuke played with a strand of his hair as he tried to decide what to do with it. It was getting way too long to slick it back and he knew it. But he didn't want to just brush it out and let it go. Too much of a hassle because it tended to get really tangled if he did that.

Finally, he settled on pulling it back into a tight ponytail. It looked good and made him look a little bit like a Hawaiian, good for fitting in. He smirked and pulled it tight into a black band.

Once he'd done that, he toweled off and sprayed his skin with a watered-down cologne. It still smelled good, but didn't knock anybody out. Even though the Miss Manners rule was, "Her perfume should never enter a room before a lady", Yusuke felt it was a good rule for cologne and men as well.

Not that he'd personally read Miss Manners. Keiko and Botan had gone through a kick where the books fascinated them. Yusuke had been helpless against their onslaught of the rules and he'd inevitably picked up a few things.

He pulled on a pair of black slacks and a medium-green bowling shirt. He then slid on a pair of brown leather loafers, checked his reflection, and exited the bathroom.

Yusuke put on a gold watch and a silver charm with the letter "K" inscribed on it, hanging from a chain. He'd purchased this in the Demon Plane. It was wrought of very fine and expensive Demon-made sonneillion, similar to Human World platinum, but about 10 times harder, and about 50 times more expensive.

For Yusuke, the "K" was for Kuwabara, but all of his friends thought it was for Keiko. That was quite fine with him. However, by the end of this vacation, Kazuma Kuwabara would be well aware of the charm's significance.

Finally feeling like he was in his own skin, even in the very casual outfit. Yusuke decided it was time to go pick Kuwabara up. By the clock, they had about a half an hour, which meant they could walk leisurely on the way to the luau. Another perk to vacation spots.

Yusuke grabbed his room key and stepped outside his door. Once it was locked, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked to Kuwabara's door, lightly tapping on it with his foot in lieu of knocking.

Within a few seconds, the door was opened and Yusuke's breath caught in his throat. Kuwabara was clad in white slacks and a white bowling shirt with patterns at the bottom the same color as his hair. He also wore loafers, though black. At his neck, he wore a simple silver chain. Yusuke felt his love for Kuwabara double.

"Hey, man. You look good," he finally managed to say. "Vacation clothes suit you."  
The other man smirked. "Thanks. They suit you too."

Yusuke inwardly warmed at the compliment, but it never showed on his face. "So, ready to go? Luau starts in about half an hour."

"Cool. Yeah, I'm ready," Kuwabara answered, grabbing his own key.

Together, they walked at an easy gait to the tropical fete. They really spoke of nothing, and Yusuke could feel that brick wall of Kuwabara's sitting heavily between them. Yusuke was going to have to take down that wall, brick by brick.

"Hey, Kuwabara. Remember when we first started out in the Spirit Detective business? The first time we fought together instead of against each other?" he ventured.

Kuwabara raised one eyebrow slightly. "Yeah, I remember that. Why? You're not turning all gushy and reminiscent on me, are you?"

Yusuke was about to heatedly say no, but stopped himself. He shrugged. "If I am?"

"That would be freaking weird coming from you."

"Then prepare to be freaking weirded out a bit. I was pretty damned happy when we started fighting on the same side. I hated fighting you. Not because you were weak or anything, but because I knew we didn't have to. Yeah, I was the biggest badass at Sarayashiki, but I didn't care. You wanted the glory. If we'd've joined forced, you could have had that and more. The respect you deserved, the clout, the power. Instead, you got your ass pounded into the pavement every time and were shamed in front of the entire school." Yusuke lit a cigarette and dragged from it a couple times, the smoke swirling around his head for a moment. "I was grateful to have you as my best friend and partner. Still am. But I know you've changed a lot since then. You don't spend any more time with me than you have to and I feel like you've built up a fence between us. What gives, Kuwabara?"

Kuwabara was obviously more than a little surprised at Yusuke's spur-of-the-moment pouring out of thoughts and feelings. He struggled with it for a moment.

"What are you talking about? It's the same as it's always been…" Kuwabara started, but Yusuke cut him off with a slightly reproachful glare.

"That's bullshit and you know it. When was the last time we did something together, just us? When was the last time we just sat around and played video games or went to the frikkin' arcade? When was the last time you looked me directly in the face?" Kuwabara visibly started at this last sentence. "You'll look at me when my face is turned, but you glance away when I look back at you. I haven't seen your face straight on in 8 and a half years and I want a damned explanation."

Kuwabara looked very uncomfortable. "Urameshi…"

"And that's another thing! You'd gotten to where you called me Yusuke, but for nearly nine years, I've just been Urameshi!"

"It's because you went away, only giving me a few minutes' notice beforehand and then came back a year and a fucking half later and expected everything to be hunky dory and the same! You'd died twice, leaving me feel fucking alone and damned useless and, just when I thought things were starting to calm down, you up and fucking LEAVE! You can't expect me to just forgive and forget after all that fucking time, Urameshi!" exclaimed Kuwabara, his eyes ablaze with anger directed at Yusuke.

Yusuke stepped back. Kuwabara's aura was blazing out of control and he felt danger to himself. Kuwabara stepped forward, grasping Yusuke's upper arms in his strong hands. He shook the smaller man slightly, causing Yusuke to cry out.

"You can't expect me to say it's all right! You can't expect me to just brush it all away! If you do, then you don't know me well enough!" Kuwabara snarled, his face close to Yusuke's.

For the first time in all the years he'd known him, Yusuke Urameshi found himself to be terrified of Kazuma Kuwabara. He'd never seen such a vehement outpouring from the redheaded man and hadn't had any idea how much bitterness and anger he'd held towards Yusuke about everything.

And for the first time in 8 and a half years, he was looking straight into Kuwabara's eyes. But now he wanted to look away and desperately tried to. However, Kuwabara was having none of it.

He grabbed Yusuke's chin and forced Yusuke to look. "You wanted to see my eyes, so look, Urameshi! Tell me if you see what you expected to see!"

The Spirit Detective closed his eyes tightly, fighting against Kuwabara's grip. But it was like a scooter going head to head with a tank. When had Kuwabara gotten so strong?! Or…had he just become that weak?

Suddenly, a voice broke through the heavy silence between them. "Excuse me, sirs, but if you're going to fight, kindly do it other than on our front steps…"

Kuwabara released Yusuke quickly and the latter retreated several steps away. He was shaking in fright and trying, without much luck, to hide it. He'd fought S-level demons before and they hadn't terrified him as badly as Kuwabara enraged.

"S—Sorry…No, there wasn't going to be a fight…We just…learned a few things is all," came Kuwabara's voice, weakly, as though ashamed of himself. "C'mon, Urameshi…let's get to the luau…"

Yusuke shook his head, stepping back a little further. "I've suddenly lost my desire to go. You go on, Kuwabara. Have some fun, huh?" He tried to smile calmly, but was not altogether convinced he'd succeeded. "See ya later, buddy."

He turned on his heel and walked normally up the stairs and back into the building. Once he was through the doors, he took off running as fast as he could.

He didn't stop until he reached his room. He fumbled the key through the lock and fell into the room, quickly slamming the door and relocking it as soon as he was inside.

He didn't stop there, either. He ran to the bathroom door and locked it fast. Not that it would help if Kuwabara wanted in badly. One strike with his aura sword and both doors would be obliterated.

Yusuke sank down onto his bed, still shiver. He felt an odd tingling in his upper arms and looked at them. What he saw made him gasp loudly.

Dark imprints, almost like a tan, were burned into his skin. The imprints were the size and shape of Kuwabara's hands.

*Sh—shit…He was so pissed, he burned me with his aura!* Yusuke thought numbly.

It was utterly surreal to him. He'd wanted the truth and had decided on provoking Kuwabara to get it. He'd never expected the tumult he'd received, nor the heat of Kuwabara's pure anger. It made him feel sick to know it'd all been directed at him.

For several minutes, he sat in complete silence, trying to collect himself. Nothing like this had ever happened and he wasn't sure what to do. He finally decided on the age-old remedy: he climbed into bed and buried himself beneath the covers. He curled into a ball and continued to shiver.

A few hours passed without him moving an inch. The shivering had subsided, but he still found himself thinking about what happened in mind-numbing fear.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a quiet knock sounded on his door. He stayed perfectly still, not even daring to breathe if he could help it.

A second of silence…then, "Urameshi?" Kuwabara spoke softly, almost uncertainly. "You in there?"

Yusuke said nothing, feeling his heart hammering against his ribs loudly. So loud, in fact, that he was sure Kuwabara would be able to hear it through the door.

More silence and then Kuwabara spoke up, his voice mournful. "Listen, if you are. I don't blame you one lick for avoidin' me…I honestly don't know where all of that came from…Sure, I'm mad about a few things, but not enough to give me a reason to rough you up. So…if you can bear the thought of being in my presence, let's talk tomorrow morning, okay? I'll order breakfast for us and…and we can clear the air. Cuz, I don't want you to hate me for this…That's my invitation. If you accept, call my room tomorrow and only let it ring once. Then give me ten minutes to order food…"A pause. "So…talk to you later, Ur…Yusuke…" Receding footsteps told Yusuke that Kuwabara was no longer in front of his door.

Yusuke pondered what to do for several minutes. On the one hand, just the thought of being close to Kuwabara did two things; one, it made him really nervous about what would happen if Kuwabara got angry again and two, it made him nervous because it was still the man he loved. On the other hand, the least he could do for Kuwabara was hear him out in a calm discussion.

*I'll do it. After all…he's put up with my shit for ten years* Yusuke thought, then nodded to himself to confirm his decision.

Tomorrow morning, everything would have to come out into the open. Everything rode on tomorrow.

Yusuke burrowed more under his covers and closed his eyes. He didn't know what would happen, but he'd face whatever it was. After all, he never backed down from anything.

Finally, sleep claimed him and he dreamt of absolutely nothing.

* * *

When Yusuke woke up, sunlight was streaming through the airy, white curtains. He could hear the ocean waves and birds chirping happily. It was altogether calming.

He groggily looked at the clock and started when he realized it was 10:45. He hadn't meant to sleep so late. Well, Kuwabara would just have to settle with brunch.

Yusuke sat up and rubbed sleep out of his eyes, groggily getting to his feet. He got out of bed and moved stiffly to the phone, dialing the number of the adjoining room. It rang once and he hung up. And that was his part done.

He used the ten minutes allotted to him to change clothes, fix the slightly mussed ponytail, and add a little of his cologne water. Once he felt better and more alert, he left his room.

He slowly made his way to Kuwabara's door, buying himself some time. He really was worried about the whole thing, but was better prepared this time if things got out of control.

He tapped his foot on the door and waited. He blinked as he heard a crash and Kuwabara curse. That made Yusuke smirk a bit. *Always a klutz…*

The door was flung open and Kuwabara stood there, his chest heaving as he breathed hard. He wore an outfit similar to the night before, only with blue patterns on the shirt instead of orange.

"What did you do, sprint from the bedroom?" Yusuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"N—nearly…Just f—finished dressing…" Kuwabara panted. "C'mon in. Food'll be here in a few."

Was it Yusuke's imagination or did the taller man seem nervous? He shrugged that thought off and entered the room.

"Have a seat at the table. Want anything to drink?"

"Did you order anything with breakfast?"

"Orange juice," replied Kuwabara.

"I'll take water, before that. Too early for booze," said Yusuke, sitting on a chair at the dining table.

Kuwabara nodded and handed him a bottle of water. Their fingers touched and Yusuke pulled back faster than he'd meant to. That touch had sent warm shivers up his spine.

Kuwabara noticed Yusuke pull away and sighed. "I don't blame you for that…I know I hurt you with my aura last night…I could feel it."

Yusuke shook his head. "You don't get it. I'm not pulling away because of that." He smirked. "But we'll get to the later. Sit down and let's talk, Kazuma."

Kuwabara's blue eyes gave Yusuke a startled look. "That's…the first time you've ever called me by my given name…"

"About damned time on my part." Yusuke crossed his arms. "So you really are pissed at me for leaving all those years ago…I was surprised by that."

Kuwabara sighed and sat down across from him. He ran his hand over his face and only then did Yusuke notice the dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't slept all night, apparently.

"I did a lot of thinking, Yusuke. Last night, I mean. I wanted to figure out my feelings so I could be honest with you. It's not anger. I'm not really angry with you. I'm severely hurt, however. And I must have been hurting all these years. You really hurt me when you left for the Demon Plane. It was like saying that humans weren't good enough for you. That I wasn't good enough for you," Kuwabara said, struggling with the words, trying not to sound corny.

"You know that's absolute crap. You're my best friend and I'd never change that!" Yusuke exclaimed, sitting forward in his chair.

"At the time, I had a few from school telling me that you were only being my friend out of pity. When you left, it seemed like they were telling the truth. I didn't shake that feeling all the time you were gone. But even when you came back, I put up a wall so I wouldn't get that close to you again. I did it for myself."

Yusuke stood fast and walked around to face him. "And while you spent that year and a half doubting my friendship, doubting ME, I spent them figuring myself out and how much you frikkin' mean to me, Kazuma Kuwabara. You wanna know what you mean to me, to ease your doubts?" Yusuke asked quietly, brown eyes blazing.

Kuwabara swallowed and nodded. "Y—yes…"

Yusuke did it before he could talk himself out of it. He dipped his head down and crushed his lips to Kuwabara's, pouring passion and love into the kiss.

He placed both of his hands on the back of Kuwabara's neck and deepened the kiss. Kuwabara had gone completely rigid, but to his credit, he didn't pull away or stop Yusuke.

After a moment, Yusuke pulled back. He felt a little dizzy from the ferocity of the kiss, but thought he'd always remember the taste of Kuwabara's lips and the way his hands had come to rest lightly on Yusuke's hips.

Confused blue eyes stared up into brown. "Wha--?"

"I love you, you idiot. I've loved you for a very, very long time. You mean the world to me, Kazu. You're all that ties me to the Human World…You're the reason I came back 8 and a half years ago," Yusuke said softly, perching himself on the edge of Kuwabara's chair.

Kuwabara looked like he was struggling badly with this revelation. It probably was difficult to say anything after a declaration like that. Yusuke decided to make things a little easier on him.

He gently cupped Kuwabara's cheek in his hand, smiling sadly. "You don't have to feel the same, Kazuma. But I think I'll eave the Human World if you don't. It's not good for me to hang onto you so much. This way, you can marry Yukina or---mphf!"

Yusuke was cut off mid-sentence as Kuwabara surged up and their mouths met again in a much hungrier, needier kiss than before. Kuwabara's arm slipped around Yusuke's waist, drawing him flush against the taller man's body.

This kiss was hot and frantic as Kuwabara pushed Yusuke against the table edge, deepening the kiss as he did so.

Yusuke felt his brain turning to mush. He reached up, encircling his arms around Kuwabara's neck, drawing him closer. He didn't know what was going on in Kuwabara's head, but he really wasn't one to complain at the moment.

After several minutes, they parted, each gasping for breath. Yusuke was clutching the table for support and Kuwabara had his head against Yusuke's throat, his breath hot against the smaller man's skin.

"K—Kazu…" Yusuke quietly panted, stroking the back of Kuwabara's neck.

Kuwabara shivered at the touch and slowly pulled back to look up into Yusuke's eyes. "I didn't…I didn't know you felt like this…I have to say, I'd never thought of kissing you like that before…" he murmured.

Those words made Yusuke's heart race. So that kiss had been spur of the moment? Hot damn…

"You mean you just kissed me for the Hell of it?" Yusuke ventured quietly.

"I…I don't know. All I know is…you kissed me and confused the shit out of me…But the second you pulled away, I wanted your lips again, your taste, your feel…I felt like my soul was trying to reach you…" Kuwabara smiled a little. "I've never felt that except around you, like my soul is calling to you…Heh…Sounds really corny."

Yusuke cupped Kuwabara's face in his hands. "No, it doesn't, Kuwabara…It sounds exactly like how I've been feeling all this time. I love you…I need you with me always…"

Kuwabara buried his face in Yusuke's throat. "How can this happen? You're a half-demon…You won't die…I'm just a human."

So Kuwabara wasn't adverse to the idea. He was worrying in the same way that Yusuke had been for many years. That death would separate them yet again.

"You're my very special human. And I'm going to figure something out, Kazuma. I promise," Yusuke said firmly. "I won't leave you in this alone. You will live a long as I do. I'll make sure of it…!"

They stayed standing for awhile, with Kuwabara's arms around Yusuke. Yusuke liked being this close to his Kazuma. Whenever he was in close proximity to him, it was like being home.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Kuwabara blinked, then grinned. "Breakfast."

"Oh, thank God! Your stomach sounds like an angry demon!" exclaimed Yusuke, laughing as he ducked a playful punch.

Once the server had placed the many plates in front of them, they dug in. Both men were starving and ate with appreciative gusto.

Afterwards, they sat and sipped coffee. The silence was extremely comfortable, but Yusuke wanted an answer to an important question in his mind.

"All right…I know you're not against me being in love with you, which is a great comfort, but I want to know…Do you love me back?" His voice was non-confrontational, simply curious.

Kuwabara was silent for a moment, as he gathered and organized his thoughts. He didn't want to give a premature answer and risk hurting Yusuke, himself, or both of them.

After some time thinking, he came to his answer and smirked. "Yeah. Guess I am. And I probably have been for more than 10 years. I looked up to you, revered you, wanted to defeat you…But when you died, it was like the world crashed down. When we began fighting together, it was great. You encouraged me in your own way and I tried to do the same for you. When Sensui killed you, I felt like I'd lost everything. I was ready to go down as long as I was fighting your killer. Best thing was when you showed up alive. I was pretty frikkin' relieved. That's why it hurt so much when you left…I didn't really want to do much. Yukina tried to help, but…It wasn't her I wanted by my side." He laughed, sounding surprised and relieved. "It was you. Always you. Hot damn. I'm completely in love with you."

"'Bout time you got it, flatface," came an irritated voice from the doorway.

Kuwabara and Yusuke both looked up and blinked. There stood Hiei, Kurama, Botan, Koenma, Keiko, and Yukina, all wearing similar looks of exasperated happiness. Well, except for Hiei, who turned up his nose and "hmph"ed.

Yusuke got up. "Wh---What are you all doing here?! And why were you listening to us?!"

"Look, Yusuke. All of us have known you a really long time and knew something had to give! We set you and Kuwabara up!" said Botan, giggling.

Kuwabara looked shocked. "Set…us up?"

"Indeed. We sent that last demon to make Yusuke decide he wanted to go on vacation. Of course, we knew he'd take you along, Kuwabara. So all we had to do was wait," replied Koenma, in his Human World form.

"Wait! You sent that demon?! But then…I killed him!" said Yusuke.

Kurama laughed. "No, you didn't. That was impressive and knocked me out for about three hours, however."

Yusuke's jaw hit the ground in disbelief. "Y—you…"

Keiko rolled her eyes. "We could see the affection you felt for Kuwabara, so we decided to help move things along. Sadly, Kuwabara isn't very quick on the uptake, so we had to make it something like this. Let you and Kuwabara go away for a while. I figured you'd spill your guts, Yusuke!"

Both men where completely shocked. While the trick hand been kind of underhanded, it proved that their friends cared about them. But they couldn't believe they'd been tricked into every move they'd made.

Yusuke started laughing and couldn't stop. Kuwabara finally grabbed him and smothered his laughter by burying his face into the taller man's chest. Kuwabara looked to Koenma.

"How did the Underworld get wrapped up in this?"

"Hey, you and Yusuke are our best Spirit Detectives. We do a little match-making when we can." Koenma shrugged. "Uh…is he okay?"

Yusuke had gone very silent. He pulled away from Kuwabara and bowed deeply to everyone, taking them all by surprise.

"Thanks, everybody. I never expected all of you pitching in to help. Means a lot to a couple o' jerks like us. It's great to have friends." Yusuke smirked. "All right, enough of the mush! Kazu! Order some champagne!"

Everyone cheered (except Hiei, of course) and Kuwabara laughed. He ordered several bottles and some food for their guests.

Yusuke hugged Kuwabara to him, deliriously happy for the first time in years. Hell could break open and it would never shatter this moment.

He'd always known they were more than friends.

* * *

It was several hours before the celebration wound down. When Yusuke had finally got rid of the last straggler (Koenma, who didn't really want to go home to King Daddy), he'd collapsed onto an armchair, feeling nearly giddy from all the champagne.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Man, what a party!"

He heard Kuwabara chuckle softly. "Well, we had a lot to celebrate. Still don't believe they pulled all that without us suspecting anything!"

"I know…They're good."

He heard no reply and opened his eyes to find Kuwabara leaning over him, lips inches away from his own. He gasped softly and Kuwabara took that as his cue to mesh their lips together.

Yusuke moaned as he felt Kuwabara's tongue invade his mouth, slowly twisting with his own. His eyes closed again and his hand crept up to the back of Kuwabara's neck, stroking the fine hairs there.

Kuwabara deepened the kiss, growling in the back of his throat. Within minutes, his tongue was thrusting against Yusuke's almost impatiently.

Yusuke broke the kiss, panting. "Do…do you want more?"

"Yes…" Kuwabara hissed, stroking the other man's hair. "I want you, Yusuke…"

Yusuke felt his body grow hot at those words and stood up. Kuwabara grabbed him by the arm, pulling them together as he resumed his deep kisses.

They slowly "danced" their way to the bedroom, Yusuke's deft fingers undoing the buttons on Kuwabara's bowling shirt. He pushed it from the redheaded man's shoulders and nipped the flesh between Kuwabara's neck and shoulder gently.

Kuwabara growled deeper, more ferally, his own hands making quick work of Yusuke's shirt. Both sets of hands found the fly of their partner's pants and it was nearly a competition to see who could strip the other first.

Finally, completely naked, they fell onto the bed, Kuwabara between Yusuke's thighs. Yusuke could feel the thick hardness of Kuwabara's cock against his leg and the thought of it within him made him shiver and arch his back off the bed a bit.

"God, Yu…you're already so worked up. You're driving me insane…" Kuwabara whispered raggedly as he dragged his tongue over Yusuke's nipple.

"Ah! Mm…It's because I've thought about this for years…The real thing…is so much better…Ungh!" Yusuke's back arched again as Kuwabara began kissing his stomach, making small, wet noises.

Kuwabara was doing awesome things with his mouth. Yusuke was nearly sobbing in a few minutes from the gentle, insistent teasing to his lower region. He was rock hard and desperately wanted his lover inside of him.

"K—Kazu…please…enough teasing…I've been waiting…8 and a half years for this…Please…fuck me…"

Kuwabara looked up with dark blue eyes. He stroked Yusuke's sides as he growled out, "No…"

Yusuke's brown eyes widened in confusion. "Wh—what? But…"

"No, I won't fuck you…but I'll make love to you, if you'll accept that."

Yusuke blinked. So…he felt that the word "fuck" was a bad term for this. Well, Yusuke agreed with him and it made him feel impossibly hotter with need to know that his lover was living up to the term.

"Yes…! Take me! Love me, please!"

Kuwabara smirked and raised himself up on his knees, moving more between Yusuke's thighs. He slipped two fingers into the black-haired man, surprised to find him slick and unresisting already. His groin tightened in anticipation.

He removed his fingers and gripped his member, pressing slowly against Yusuke's puckered orifice. Yusuke made a small mewling sound that quickly crescendoed to a cry of bliss as Kuwabara seated himself full within Yusuke.

"Ah, fuck! Fuck, you feel so good, Yu…!" Kuwabara groaned, holding onto Yusuke's hips as he shifted his own.

Yusuke whimpered and murmured, "So big…so good…Kazu…"

Kuwabara thrilled at Yusuke's words and began hard, fast movements, wanting to satisfy them both as quickly as possible. He drove mercilessly into Yusuke, groaning at the hot slickness engulfing him.

Yusuke leaned his head back, spreading his legs to give Kuwabara a better angle for penetration, loving the passion in his beloved's movements. He clasped his hands behind Kuwabara's neck, urging him forward.

Kuwabara snarled and slammed in deeper, watching Yusuke's face, which was contorted in sheer pleasure. Sweat beaded on his body, running and mixing with Yusuke's.

Yusuke slipped onto his slide and then on his hands and knees, never jarring Kuwabara from him. Kuwabara found the new position much easier and pressed deeper into him.

Yusuke pushed back to meet him again and again, gasping and mewling. With a harsh, guttural cry of completion, coming hard, Yusuke's body went slightly limp.

Kuwabara kept him up with one arm around his waist, still pushing in fast. He could feel his groin tightening, a sign that the end was near.

He bit down on Yusuke's shoulder, doubling his efforts until he, too, came with a shout muffled against the other man's skin. He groaned, completely within Yusuke for a moment before his knees gave out. He quickly managed to move off of Yusuke and then collapsed on the bed.

Yusuke lay on his stomach, panting slightly. His body felt light as though he were floating. He still felt the warmth of Kuwabara's body and it was making him drowsy.

Kuwabara pulled Yusuke to him and snuggled him. "Mmm…That was incredible, Yu…"

Yusuke smirked. "Mm-hmm. It was…"

Kuwabara rubbed Yusuke's arm, kissing his forehead. Yusuke purred softly and just kept close, enjoying the affection.

Outside, the blue waters of the Pacific lapped against the white sands of the beaches of the Big Island. The birds sang softly in the night breeze, the insect chirping rhythmically to the stars.

And nestled within the sweet Shangri-La, two young men in love curled around each other. They were important to the preservation of the Human World. But at the moment, nothing mattered but the love they held for each other. And as far as they were concerned, the world could wait.

THE END


End file.
